IN CROSSING FIRE!
by Douglas Fett
Summary: The third flashback RP for my main character, Douglas Fett. I had originally written this many years ago with two friends, who wrote their respective characters Turris and Joanus. Last year I took the old RP and rewrote it. Here it is.
1. The Briefing

_The Mandalorian Wars_

One of the bloodiest conflicts of past decades, it wrought destruction and death on an unprecedented scale. Te Ani'la Mand'alor, better known as "Mandalore the Ultimate," was the mastermind of this massive conflict after being persuaded by the True Sith to attack the Republic.

Following 20 years of re-uniting and rebuilding the scattered Mandalorian Clans, Mandalore launched the renewed clans into the Outer Rim, in 3,976 BBY. This was a means to warm up his armies, for his forces were not strong enough – yet - to attack the Republic. As the Mandalorians carved out clan territories larger than the Hutt's, the Republic Senate, wary of conflict since the war with Exar Kun, decided not to aid the Outer Rim planets: Their only concern was the safety of the Republic itself, and the Mandalorians hadn't threatened them. The Republic stayed neutral for a whole decade as Mandalorian expansion in the Outer Rim continued, undefeated.

In 3,966, Mandalore provoked the Republic into action after converging on Taris and it's neighboring worlds of Vanquo, Tarnith, Suurja and Jebble. The Republic had a vested interest in these resource worlds, so it assembled a massive navy to protect them. The Mandalorians skirmished with the Republic forces in the sector, in a series of battles that ended in stalemate. Though Mandalore managed to take the minor planet of Flashpoint, the Mandalorians, to the Republic, seemed tired and weak after 10 years of war. Republic morale soared when it seemed their warlike foe had spent themselves. But it was a massive ruse that deceived the entire Republic command – Mandalore was merely preparing for a full-scale invasion behind the scenes, while gauging the Republic's strengths and weaknesses in proxy wars, skirmishes, and feigned retreats. The Republic had unwittingly thrown down their deck of cards and declared victory. Victory was far from over.

With his forces prepared for a massive three-pronged attack into the Republic, Mandalore invaded the Republic world of Onderon from their staging ground on Dxun. History echoed and reverberated…when once Onderon had fended off the Mandalorians leading to the death of Te Kandosii Mand'alor on Dxun, now the Mandalorians were striking back with a vengeance.

As part of a contingency plan, Mandalore had sent disguised task forces across the galaxy to set up hidden bases on remote worlds. One of these forces, led by General Heinrich, ended up in the Hoth system. However Heinrich and his Mandalorian forces weren't alone…they were caught by the Republic assault ship, _The Panzershell_. At first pursued by Republic forces, Heinrich's fleet divided itself in the face of their pursuers, and converged on the Republic ship. _The Panzershell_ was surrounded, but it hadn't been defeated yet…

A Mandalorian Legionnaire, a Jedi Knight, and an ERCS Leader would meet in this long forgotten battle, in the remote Hoth System.

This is that story.

_Dramatis Personae_

Douglas Fett - Male Human Mandalorian; Legionnaire  
>Tairek MacBroek – Male Human Mandalorian; Senior Man-at-Arms<br>Major Hirohito – Female Human Mandalorian  
>General Heinrich – Male Taung Mandalorian<br>Major Philippe – Male Ubese Mandalorian  
>Kelroth - Male Taung Mandalorian; Neo-Crusader regular<p>

Joanus Cree – Male Human Jedi Knight  
>Turris – Male Human ERCS Captain<p>

_Author's note: This is a major retcon/rewrite/remaster/restoration/re-kickass-make of an old, old RP Flash, Turris, and myself created years ago on Flash's Mando Wars RP site. It follows the same format, same plot line, but with certain scenes extended, along with extraneous posts and details removed. I merely cleaned the whole RP up and it took me a day and a half to do. So, consider this and my previously posted 'Betrayal' RP like "Director's cuts." What we meant to go for but were obviously too n00bish at the time to achieve. Enjoy._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**Inner Rim - Dxun**

**3,963**

The last few days were pretty quiet after the mission to Del Nor. Quiet was good, comfortable. I needed it.

Except when my mind sifted through my memories of Del Nor. My squadmates, Henrish, Begaro, Derryl, getting killed. By Darius. Darius, my brother. We fought. I defeated him. I killed him. No…I left him for dead. I stabbed my gladius right through his armour and into his gut, twisted the blade, left it in him, then threw him down the side of a mountain. In the end, he was ultimately a traitor and he had it coming. But…I did it to my blood brother. Sure, in our culture, bloodlines don't matter. It's who you fight alongside, who you have camaraderie with. Still…I had always been with my brother.

When the memories did come back, I wanted to get into a massive fire fight, rip a zakkeg's eyeballs out and force the beast to eat them. I needed chaos to ignore the pain of my memories.

"Douglas? You alright?" An older Mandalorian with a thick brogue asked. I shook my head of the thoughts. It was Tairek, my new partner.

"Yah. I…what's going on?"

"The Major wants us in the command center. Come on." Tairek said. I was sitting at one of the benches in the open mess hall, so I left and headed off with Tairek to see the Major. We entered the command center. Hirohito was an older woman, perhaps early forties, but she still looked tough enough to rip the ears off a gundark.

"Douglas, Tairek. Sit down." She said. We did, as she activated a holo. A map of the galaxy appeared, and the Hoth system was highlighted.

"As I've explained to you before, Mandalore has initiated a contingency plan to establish hidden bases on remote worlds across the galaxy. One of his top generals he sent to the far end of the galaxy, Heinrich, has made his way to the Hoth system. We received a report from personnel in his fleet, and it's revealed that though they were pursued by Republic forces, they managed to surround our foe. They've requested reinforcements. I'm sending you two to help their marines board the Republic assault ship, _The Panzershell_."

"What troops do they have onboard?" I asked.

"Besides the usual Republic troops and fleet personnel, we've confirmed the presence of not only Jedi Knights, but ERCS."

"ERCS Major?" I replied back.

"Yes. 'Elite Republic Commando Squad.' If there's one branch of the Republic military you should be wary of, it's them. Their the Republic equivalent of our Legionnaires." Hirohito said. I was a Legionnaire. This confrontation would be interesting.

"Any Jedi of note?" Tairek asked.

"Only one. A certain Jedi by the name of Joanus Cree is onboard _The Panzershell_. He's your age Doug and he's already ascended the rank of Knight."

"What does that mean to us?" I asked.

"From what we've gathered about the Jedi over the last 30 years, they have three distinct ranks. Apprentices, Knights, and Masters. Most apprentices pass the tests to be Knights in their late 20s. Joanus is 19." Hirohito said.

"We'll take him down like we would anyone else, Major." Tairek said.

"Good to hear. As you two will be paired together and sent to certain trouble spots behind the frontlines, we're lending you a ship of your own. A next-generation Basilisk War Droid. Like previous models it has room for only one, but we've modified its interior to hold the pilot, co-pilot, and two passengers. There is also a small cargo hold. It will be in one of the hangars when you go to leave." Hirohito said. Tairek and I left to gather our things. We met at the hangars with our equipment. We stared in awe at the Basilisk.

"I've never seen one like this before." Tairek said.

"Definitely a new model…let's check it out." I said. Tairek and I went inside the Basilisk, entering into the cargo hold which then split off into the cockpit. We put our equipment in the cargo hold, and went into the cockpit. Tairek went in the pilot's seat while I to the co-pilots. After getting used to the controls, Tairek took the ship up off Dxun, and into hyperspace.


	2. The Panzershell

**Outer Rim - Hoth System**

**Aboard the Republic Assault ship **_**Panzershell**_

The space battle continued on, as the _Panzershell_'s supporting craft were slowly being destroyed by the Mandalorian fleet. The assault ship was boarded just a few hours prior, and already the Mandalorians had killed most of the crew. But the Republic troops onboard hadn't been defeated or been killed off yet. Captain Turris of ERCS, an elite within the elite, led a small, covert resistance force of other ERCS members, as well as Jedi. He was leading three teams of survivors, as they scoured the ship for other survivors en route to the hangar. Turris used his helmet's comlink to contact a friendly.

"Bravo Team, how are our Jedi?"

"They're under control, just it's hard to work with them. Over." Bravo leader replied.

"I know, but we must ensure their safety. Charlie team, report."

"In crossing fire! I repeat, in crossing fire! We're trying to get into the medical station!"

"Understood. Over and out." Captain Turris replied, cutting the line. The assault ship shuddered violently, and a few moments later the lights and power began to short circuit. After the lights began randomly blinking, they eventually went out entirely. Some though managed to stay on, but even they blinked on and off. One of Turris' commandos turned to his leader.

"What was that cap?"

"I think we've just flown into an asteroid field." Turris replied. The ERCS captain heard something in the next room, so he motioned to his team to be quiet. Activating his thermal vision, Turris leaned into the next room, then came back. He held up five fingers, and his team nodded in recognition. The nearest commando leaned towards Turris.

"Nightvision?" The commando asked. Turris shook his head, instead producing a smoke grenade from his belt and equipping his blaster rifle. He calibrated his specially made rifle to "scatter blast," pulled the pin on the grenade, waited 3 seconds, and tossed it in the room. White smoke filled the room, and Turris and his men charged in from two different entrances.

His men blasted the Mandalorians inside, the heavy slugs from Turris' rifle demolishing two of the Mandalorians. The rest of his men killed the other three. As the smoke cleared, Turris and his team entered. The two Turris killed were shot across the room, smashing into walls with huge holes in their chests. The other three were scattered across the room, their dead, bloodied, broken bodies in a locker, on a chair, and on a table. The captain reviewed the scene, satisfied.

"Clear. Let's move." Turris said. Like shadows or silhouettes, Turris and his team clandestinely continued through the inner bowels of the ship.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

We blasted out of hyperspace, in range of an ongoing space battle between Heinrich's fleet and the crippled Republic fleet. Beyond that was a massive asteroid field in orbit over the planet Hoth. Tairek piloted us forward. Eventually our comrades hailed us on the Basilisk's comm.

"Good to see some other friends in this system." The controller on the other end said.

"We're here to see the General." I said into the comm. as Tairek piloted.

"Heinrich is overseeing the attack inside _The Panzershell_. You have permission to land. Out." The controller said. Tairek took the ship towards the large Republic assault ship, ignoring the space battle going on around it. There wasn't much of a Republic fleet left, as our allies blasted more and more of their ships to pieces. Tairek landed the Basilisk in the hangar of the Republic ship, which was now being used as a staging area by Heinrich's troops to infiltrate the ship. We exited the ship, nodded to nearby Mandalorians, and approached General Heinrich, who was in the yellow Neo-Crusader armour.

"You two must be the reinforcements Dxun sent." Heinrich said.

"Aye. What can we help with General?" Tairek asked.

"We've secured the hangar. None of their survivors are getting in or out. But they have at least three teams of ERCS, along with Jedi, still inside the ship. We've bloodied them good, and now they'll be looking to patch themselves up. I want you two to head to the medical ward, and sabotage any chances they might have. After that, head to the bridge and assess the ship's destination." Heinrich said. He produced a holo, displaying the outline of the ship, with the medical ward highlighted.

"Set charges and blow them to hell General?" I asked.

"Correct. Speak with Major Philippe over there, he'll provide you with charges and anything else you'll need. Good luck." Heinrich said. We shook his hand and headed over to see the Major. Philippe, in red Neo-Crusader armour, greeted us.

"What do you need?" He asked.

"Charges, and any CQB rifles you've got." Tairek said. Philippe opened a crate, revealing mines, along with slug thrower scatter rifles. We took the rifles, ammo, and the mines, and headed off into the ship.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Turris and his team covered one of their comrades, as he snuk into a ventilation shaft overlooking the hangar. After getting a clear view and seeing what was going on, the commando came back out and reported to the captain.

"The Mandalorians have the hangar cap."

"How many?" Turris asked.

"25 men. 20 regs, 3 officers, and 2 special operations troopers who just arrived."

"Damnit. Change of plans. Ships?"

"5 Basilisk war droids."

"Hmm…equipment?"

"Heavy duty explosives, repeaters, blaster cannons. It doesn't look good cap."

"I see. Good recon soldier. At ease."

"Thanks captain." The commando said. Turris closed his eyes behind his helmet, thinking as he focused his Battle Meditation…it was a unique power that few Force users could master. Turris himself didn't recognize what and where it came from, he only knew it came in handy in tight situations. He was interrupted though as his comlink came to life.

"Bravo Leader to Alpha."

"Speak." Turris replied, his eyes still closed.

"We're right behind you. The Jedi are fine…why have we stopped?"

"Plans have changed Bravo. The hangar is lost. We can't stay in one place too long or we may lose more troops, so keep following us." Turris said. He could hear Bravo sigh on the other end. Neither wanted to say it, but they both knew the situation was bad. The hangar was their only way out.

"Understood. Bravo over and out." Bravo said. Turris contacted Charlie leader, hoping they were still alive from the previous fire fight.

"Charlie, talk to me." Turris said. He could hear lots of blaster fire on the other end.

"We're breaking through their defenses, and we're almost to the medical wing!"

"Good. That's an important strategic point. Losses?"

"I've lost two of my men but we took four times as many of them down. How's our escape route looking?" Charlie asked. Turris tensed, his jaw trembling. He almost didn't want to answer for fear of killing what morale was left in his men. "Sir? How's our escape route? Over."

"We're working on it."

"Understood cap! It's getting hot here again! Over and out!" Charlie said, as Turris heard blaster fire roar on the other end. Turris opened his eyes back up and reloaded his rifle.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Leaving the hangar, Tairek and I ventured the ship. It was quiet for a time, but after rounding a corner we came straight into a fire fight. Three other Mandalorians were fleeing down a corridor, as five ERCS pursued them. We took cover behind the corner, giving our comrades covering fire as they retreated. I used my pistol to fire and managed to wound one in the shoulder, while Tairek wounded another in the leg. Nevertheless, two of our brothers were killed. The last managed to make it to the corner of the corridor, and we kept firing as he took cover. Tairek and I killed the two wounded as their friends tried to pull them away, killing a third ERCS in the process. The other two fled. I covered us as Tairek spoke to our comrade.

"Are you hurt?"

"No I'm ok, but it looks like my squad got taken out."

"We're en route to the medical ward. Would you like to come with us lad?"

"Sure. I know the way. My squad and I just came from there. A few squads of ERCS were heading there as well. We got engaged in a massive fire fight and had to retreat. It'll be crawling with those guys. I know a shortcut around so we could get there before them. My name is Kelroth, by the way"

"Alright, lead the way Kelroth." Tairek said. Kelroth reloaded his blaster rifle, and led us down a few corridors. It was quiet again. If the ERCS were as good as they said, they might have set explosives already. I sure hoped they didn't. Fortunately, we got to the medical ward in one piece after following our brother for 10 minutes. We silently crept in, making sure the ERCS weren't inside. It was clear.

"Take any supplies we might need first. Then set your charges lads." Tairek said. We took a few kolto vials, and other supplies before planting mines in gurneys, under sinks, in cabinets, and even inside empty medical kits strewn about the room. To top it off, Kelroth went into the backup electricity conduit, and attached a mine inside, hiding it behind wires. I walked over.

"Ingenious. They'll go to turn on the lights, it won't work, so they'll flip on the conduit and it'll blow them all to hell." I said.

"And cause a chain reaction for all the other mines."

"Great. Let's find some cover and hide for when the ERCS arrive." I said. The three of us exited the room, going to a room across the corridor and hid in some lockers.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Captain Turris, leading Alpha Squad, led his troops to the bridge of the assault ship. Approaching the blast doors of the bridge, Turris and his men heard voices inside. Using hand signals, Turris ordered one of his men to set a permacrete detonator to the door, while the rest went back a good distance to be out of the radius of the explosion. Setting the charge, the commando ran for cover as the whole squad activated their helmet's rebreathers. After a few seconds, the blast doors were blown down, and immediately Turris armed a poison gas grenade and threw it in. The Mandalorians inside the bridge were caught by surprise, and choked to death on the poisonous gas. When the gas cleared, Turris and his squad deactivated their rebreathers and went inside the bridge. That was another four Mandalorians down. Turris got on his helmet's comm. to Bravo leader.

"Alpha to Bravo – bridge secured. I repeat: bridge secured. Regroup with us here on the bridge. Over."

"Copy that. We're on our way. Over and out." Bravo leader said. Turris turned to look at his squad as they went about their tasks. Two guarded the door, another two hid in ambush spots should the bridge come under attack, another sliced into the ship's nav computer to send it into the biggest asteroid in the field, while his last commando armed explosives in strategic points on the bridge. Turris smiled.

_Elite Republic Commando Squad – perfect soldiers. We were taught how to think the same way and understand each other without words. Loyalty, trust, perfection…_ Turris reflected. He was proud of his men. He got on his helmet's comm. to Charlie leader.

"Alpha to Charlie, what's your position, over?" Turris said. Silence. "Alpha Leader here, Charlie, do you copy?" Turris said. Turris' face turned grim behind his helmet. His soldiers turned to look at him.

"We lost them."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Charlie Leader and his team of ERCS crept down the corridor. The medical ward was in sight. They passed by a room filled with lockers, and opposite it were the doors to the ward. The team went on either side of the door to fight their way in. Charlie Leader used hand signals, and one of his men pulled out a smoke grenade. Creeping open the door just enough, the commando threw in a smoke grenade. It went off, and the team rushed in, ready to shoot down any hostiles inside. The room was clear. Charlie Leader sighed.

"Clear. Rest up, find some kolto and whatever else you need. Those of you who aren't wounded, cover the doors." Charlie leader said. One of his men went over to the kolto tank, but it wasn't working.

"There's a switch on the other side. Flip it and it'll go." Charlie leader said.

"But sir, didn't the ship lose power a while ago?"

"All capital ships have backup power conduits in their medical stations. Turn on that conduit over there first, then you can use the kolto tank." Charlie leader said. The wounded commando walked over to the wall, and flipped open the conduit circuit station. Ignoring the mess of wires, he found the switch and flipped it.

We heard a massive explosion from the medical ward. The three of us exited the lockers, left the room and headed to the medical ward on the other side of the corridor. We forced the doors opened, and found the members of Charlie Team thrown about the room, blasted to pieces. All the mines had gone off, killing all of them instantly. From one of the corpses' helmets came comm. chatter. I walked over to it as Tairek and our comrade inspected the remains.

"_Alpha to Charlie, what's your position, over_?" A man said. He sounded like the guy in charge. "Alpha Leader here, Charlie, do you copy?" He asked again. I pulled off the guy's helmet, and realized he was still alive. With my scatter rifle, I blasted the ERCS in the face, splattering his skull and head on the ground beneath him. I took the helmet and spoke into the comm.

"Here that? That's the sound of your friends dying. Your next." I said. I tossed the helmet and turned to Tairek. He nodded.

"Our mission is done here lads. Let's get back to the hangar." Tairek said. We exited the medical ward and began to head to the bridge. The ship was large, it'd be a good 45 minutes till we got there.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Turris' squad lowered their heads as their captain announced they had lost Charlie team. A few moments later, they could hear a loud slug thrower blast over the comm., followed by a young man's voice.

"_Here that? That's the sound of your friends dying. Your next_." The voice said. Turris clenched his fist in rage.

"You'll pay for this, Mandalorian scum." Turris whispered to himself. He switched channels to Bravo team.

"Alpha to Bravo. We lost Charlie. I repeat: we lost Charlie. Use only this channel, the other is bugged. Over." Turris said. He could Bravo sigh on the other end.

"_Roger. We'll be there shortly. Over and out_." Bravo said. Turris cut the line and turned to his soldiers.

"We need to regroup and leave the bridge before the Mandalorians arrive. Those charges set?" Turris asked of the commando who had done it.

"All our explosives have been planted cap."

"Good. I want those ironheads to burn here more than they ever will in hell."


	3. The Jedi

Joanus Cree and his fellow Jedi Knights were being escorted by the Bravo team towards the rendezvous. As Bravo Leader received a transmission, the team stopped.

"Something wrong, Lead?" Joanus asked. Bravo leader looked at him, his helmet blank and his tone flat and emotionless. He betrayed nothing.

"Alpha leader just contacted me. We lost Charlie. Every single one of them."

_Another pointless death_ Joanus thought.

"I'm sorry men," Joanus said. "But we can't forget our mission and our objective, and that's to live and fight the Mandalorians on our terms. There will be time to grieve later when we're done with this mess. Now, to get our bearings. Where are we?"

"D Wing, Corridor X2," Bravo Leader replied.

"Thank you, soldier. Where is the rendezvous?"

"Corridor X5, down that way," Bravo Leader said, pointing. Joanus nodded. His awareness in the Force, however, spiked.

"You'd better get moving."

"And what about you, Colonel?" one of the soldiers asked. A trio of Mandalorian soldiers rounded the corner.

"Holding _them_ off. Go." Joanus replied. Bravo team and the remaining Jedi continued down the corridor.

The Mandalorians shouted something in Mando'a, and opened fire. Joanus activated his silver lightsaber and deflected the bolts back at them. The Mandalorians abandoned their ranged attack and came in close, one with a long sword, another with just his gauntlet shivs, and another with a short vibroblade. The Mandalorian with the shivs reached him first, attacking Joanus' head. Joanus sidestepped, spinning and unleashing a roundhouse kick into the Mandalorian, cracking ribs. As the Mandalorian staggered back, Joanus swung his lightsaber skyward and cleaved the Mandalorian in two. The Mandalorian with the long sword attacked next. Joanus locked blades with him, then sliced off the Mandalorian's hands and shoved him back. Last was the foe with the vibroblade, who threw his weapon. Joanus stopped it mid-flight with the Force.

Using the Force again, Joanus primed a thermal detonator on one of the soldier's belts. The device detonated, killing the two remaining Mandos and collapsing the corridor. Joanus shut down his saber, and started after Bravo team.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Captain Turris was standing in the middle of the bridge, waiting, as his commando slicer walked over to him.

"The ship's destination has been changed cap."

"Good work. At ease." Turris said. His slicer and demolitions commandos, finished with their tasks, took defensive positions around the bridge should the Mandalorians attacked. As Turris went to take up a position as well, the blast doors opened and his squad aimed to shoot. They held their fire when they realized it was a Jedi, leading Bravo team. Turris approached the Jedi.

"At last, you must be Joanus Cree. My commandos and I are ready. Let's get the hell out of here before-"

"COLONEL Joanus Cree, captain." Joanus replied. Turris clenched his fist and gritted his teeth in hatred and anger.

_These great Jedi – PROTECTORS…joined the war barely a month ago and think they can lead everyone! The truth is they know nothing of this hell we've been in the middle of. Its Republic soldiers like us who've been spilling our blood for 3 years against those flaming ironheads to protect the Republic. The Jedi were sitting on their asses watching us die until someone with balls, someone like Revan, decided to finally come in and save us. Who the hell do they think they are? Who gave them the right to appoint themselves as our generals, when they've never fought alongside us before? Where do they get off thinking they can treat us, the real soldiers of this war, who've been dying for a long three years, like trash? I am a soldier, loyal to the Republic, the Jedi are higher in rank and therefore have authority, but they don't have our respect. I listen to his orders, follow them, but its against my honour_ Turris thought bitterly to himself.

Joanus sensed the captain's feelings, his hatred of the Jedi. There wasn't time to enlighten this man, though he very much would have liked to argue with him. Joanus repressed his anger, his immediate feeling of hatred.

"Captain, would you rather we returned to our enclaves, and let you fight the Mandalorians on your own?" Joanus said. Turris, behind his helmet's visor, looked straight into the Jedi's eyes. Having some Force sensitivity himself, though unrecognized, Turris not only saw something different in Joanus' eyes; he felt something different about him. He spoke finally after a few moments of silence.

"Perhaps it would be better for us all 'colonel.' Revan and the rest of you don't know what you went into and I have no idea what it will bring. Maybe victory. Maybe loss. Or maybe…both." Turris said, reloading his rifle. "One is certain, we don't have time for a 'friendly chat.' Do what you want Jedi, but I'm going to get your ass out of here ALIVE. Those are my orders." Turris said. He turned around to face his squad.

"Confirm destination."

"The largest asteroid in the field, sector 5-4."

"Explosives?"

"Been done for a while cap."

"Don't give me snark, bucko. Listen up soldiers. We have 1 hour, 23 minutes, and 4 seconds before we're buried alive with the Mandalorians in this asteroid field. It's our mission to get off this graveyard of a ship. Engaging in fire fights is easy. This will require a lot more out of each and everyone of us. From now on I'll personally defend the Jedi, I don't want them out of my sight, even for a second. Understood?"

"SIR YES SIR!" Turris' men, Bravo and Alpha, yelled. Turris looked at all of them.

"So what are you waiting for! Now we've only got 1 hour and 21 minutes! Move your asses! GO GO GO!" Turris yelled. Bravo and Alpha teams, regrouped, along with the Jedi, hurried out of the bridge. Turris and Joanus walked behind them.

"So, captain…you know your men best. What's your plan?" Joanus asked. The captain acknowledged Joanus' question but didn't turn to look at him.

"Too many questions Jedi. Just shut up and watch the show." The ERCS captain replied. He walked past Joanus and approached his soldiers as they reached an intersection.

"Units 3 and 5, recon." Turris ordered. The two commands nodded and headed off, activating their armour's stealth generators. Joanus arrived with the main group a few moments later. Turris spoke to his two teams, ignoring Joanus.

"We should reach the main corridor leading to the hangar in due time but we can't just walk in the front doors." Turris announced. Joanus spoke.

"Why?" Joanus asked. Turris angrily rolled his eyes behind his visor, turning to look at Joanus.

"That's what I'm talking about. This is the difference between Jedi and true soldiers." Turris said, sighing and turning back. "Like I said, you have no idea how to fight ironheads, _colonel_."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

We had been traversing our way up the ship, taking us nearly 30 minutes and more to finally reach the bridge. Finally, Tairek and I, along with Kelroth, reached the hangar. Just before the bridge a section of ceiling was blown apart, having killed three of our comrades. When we opened the doors into the bridge, we found four more dead brothers. Except for our dead comrades, the bridge was empty. I turned to Tairek.

"Where is everyone? I was expecting to see survivors. Crewmen, ERCS…anybody." I said.

"Most likely they already came through, killed a few of our brothers, and left. The General told us to report the situation. Let's investigate and see if we can find anything." Tairek said. The three of us began searching. After a few minutes we made some discoveries. For one, the whole bridge was set with heavy duty charges. The other, whoever was in here set the ship's destination for a massive asteroid orbiting Hoth. While Kelroth and I covered the bridge in case any ERCS ambushed us, Tairek contacted Heinrich.

"General, this is Tairek. The lads and I have reached the bridge, and discovered several hidden charges. We also analyzed the navcomputer, and found whoever used it last set the ship on a crash course for an asteroid. They locked it down so we can't access it."

"_I see…very well. Return to the hangar as soon as possible. We're leaving, and I don't know how much longer my men and I will be staying_."

"Understood general. Out." Tairek said. He turned to us. "We're leaving. Let's go."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Turris and his platoon of ERCS and Jedi reached an empty corridor leading to the hangar. They were so close, but they couldn't screw up now. Turris checked his chrono. 30 minutes. One of his recon commandos contacted Turris via their encrypted channel.*

"_Unit 3, reporting in captain_."

"I hear you. What'd you find?"

"_There's a team of Mandalorians moving in the direction of the hangar. They'll be patrolling the main corridor intersection leading to the hangar for 5 minutes. Unit 5 is currently observing them_."

"So you have 5 minutes to set a trap. Use ventilation shafts, engineering tunnels, whatever you can. Don't be seen no matter what, the hangar is close enough that they could surround us and kill us. Our lives depend on it. Take out the patrol, but don't damage their armour. We'll need their suits. I know its hard soldier but it's our only chance of getting out of here alive. Myself and a few others will assist you in just a few moments."

"_Understood captain. Over and out_." Unit 3 said. He turned to his men.

"Units 7, 10, 13 and 19 come with me. The rest of you stay here and defend the Jedi. Colonol Joanus…I'll contact you via comlink when we're done." Turris said. He and his hand picked men activated their stealth generators, and went on ahead to assist units 3 and 5. When Turris and his men grouped with units 3 and 5, they remained hidden, but moved to ambush spots. Once they were safely hidden, the Mandalorian patrol walked by. The squad leader spoke.

"This corridor is clear. Move out." The leader said. They didn't get far, as two camouflaged ERCS appeared behind them, killing 2 of them by slitting their throats. Their other comrades turned around to see their buddies were dead, and were about to fire when they were set upon by more camouflaged ERCS, snapping their necks. The squad leader, safe at the other end of the corridor, turned to see his comrades die, with several ERCS standing over their bodies.

"What the? Republic Comm-" The leader was cutoff in mid sentence, as captain Turris jumped down from the overhead ventilation shaft, immediately shooting the squad leader through the neck with a silenced slug thrower pistol. The last Mandalorian in the patrol turned to run down another corridor, but Turris dropped to one knee, calmly aimed, and fired, sending another silenced slug into the retreating Mandalorian. The slug pegged him in the neck, severing his spinal chord and killing him instantly. The rest of his recon units engaged a few more Mandalorians, and killed them with quick take downs. Turris regrouped with his recon units and contacted Joanus.

"Done."

"That was fast. I didn't hear anything."

"That was the plan. Now get your Jedi asses over here!" Turris ordered. A few minutes later the whole team regrouped in the corridor, as the recon commandos dragged the dead Mandalorians together. Turris assessed the casualties.

"Shit! We don't have enough armour for all of us. And one of them is damaged. Damnit!" Turris exclaimed. Joanus calculated, and then voiced an idea.

"There's enough armour for your commandos, captain. Perhaps your 'patrol' captured us and brought us to the hangar?" Joanus said. Turris seemed to consider this then nodded.

"You aren't as stupid as I thought Colonel. Soldiers, remove your armour and replace it with our dead pals' here. Anyone else coming by will think we've been eliminated."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Turris' team of ERCS, disguised as the Mandalorian patrol, entered the hangar with their Jedi prisoners. They approached Major Philippe. Turris, in a foreign accent, spoke as the patrol leader.

"Major, Sergeant Vlad reporting in." Turris said. The Major eyed the Jedi, then looked back at Turris.

"Fine job. What happened?"

"We encountered the ERCS in the main corridor. After a brief firefight, we eliminated them and captured their Jedi allies. We suffered one casualty."

"Very good. I'll be sure to mention your skill to General Heinrich once this operation is over." Philippe said. Turris noticed the addition of another ship in the hangar, an armoured combat shuttle.

"Thank you Major. Permission to escort the prisoners to the shuttle and place them in force cages?"

"We're leaving soon, so go ahead." Philippe said. Turris as Sergeant Vlad nodded, and went with his team into the shuttle. Philippe walked over to the General.

"General, one of our patrols eliminated the ERCS and captured the Jedi. They're taking them onboard our shuttle now."

"Excellent." Heinrich said. Philippe walked back to his post while Heinrich contacted Tairek.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

We were en route to the hangar, and headed through the main corridor intersection. We came across a pile of ERCS corpses. I smiled behind my helmet, while Kelroth knelt down to inspect them.

"Alright, somebody finally got those bastards." I said. Heinrich contacted us on our helmet comlinks.

"_Tairek, Fett, a patrol has just arrived with captured Jedi. The ERCS have been taken care of. We're done here. Get back to the hangar and we'll leave_." Heinrich said over the comm. Tairek was about to confirm over the comlink when Kelroth threw off all the helmets of the ERCS.

"Wait! These aren't ERCS! These are Mandalorians! The ERCS and the Jedi duped us!" He yelled. Tairek spoke.

"Negative General, that wasn't one of our patrols! ERCS in disguise! They killed the patrol and stole their armour!" Tairek exclaimed over the channel.

"_Fierfek!_" Heinrich cut the line. The three of us bolted down the corridor to stop the ERCS and the Jedi from escaping.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Joanus and the Jedi were escorted towards the shuttle by the Mandalorian 'patrol.' Joanus' Force senses flared and he looked back at the Mandalorians, who were suddenly joined by three Mandalorians entering the hangar from the main corridor. One of the special ops Mandalorians pointed at them.

"It's the Jedi and ERCS! Blast them!"

The whole hangar full of Mandalorians unleashed blaster fire on the imposters. One Jedi and three ERCS were gunned down immediately. Joanus used the Force to throw aside his bindings.

"Get the ERCS out of here!" Joanus said to his remaining Jedi comrades as he powered up his crimson double-bladed lightsaber. They ignited their own lightsabers and deflected blaster bolts back while slowly retreating with the men. Meanwhile, Turris took part of his team behind some barrels and crates for cover, giving the rest of his team covering fire for them to retreat into the shuttle.

"Units 3, 7, and 8 to the ship! Units 2, 5, and 9, guard the Jedi! The rest, give covering fire!"

Joanus decapitated one Mandalorian who tried to sneak up on them from behind the shuttle. Two more Mandalorians with heavy repeaters appeared behind Turris and his firing team. Joanus used the Force to leap through the air in front of the Mandalorians, deflecting the bolts back at close range, then slicing forward and cutting the Mandalorians in half. He turned to Turris, who ducked beneath the crate and looked at the two dead Mandalorians.

"I know, 'you didn't need saving from the high and mighty Jedi,' but the high and mighty Jedi just took your ass off the roaster," Joanus said.

"Stop being a fucking hero you fool! Get to the shuttle before they kill us all!" Turris yelled over the roar of blaster fire. Joanus merely batted away a few more blaster bolts, assessing losses as one more of the Jedi was shot and killed.

"Captain, we're going to have to make a break for it, this is a battle we can't win." Joanus said.

"No shit Colonel." Turris spat back. He ducked under the barrels and crates, and did a quick assessment. He lost a few ERCS and Jedi, but his men had taken the shuttle. This was a good chance as any to escape. "RETREAT!"

Turris and the ERCS ran for it, while Joanus and the Jedi covered their retreat. Turris emptied his last magazine of the Mandalorian Assault rifle, taking a few Mandalorians down as he switched to his dual Mandalorian pistols after tossing the rifle. Another of the Jedi was shot and killed, and in his absence a stray blaster bolt flew past the Jedi and shot straight into the back of Turris' leg, which the Mandalorian armour didn't cover. Turris hissed in pain as the searing hot bolt burned his skin. Joanus and the last remaining Jedi walked backwards up the shuttle ramp, while two of the commandos went into the cockpit to take them out of there. The ramp slowly closed behind them, as one of the commandos knelt down over Turris, who lay wounded on the floor.

"Are you alright cap?"

"Stay away! They can still hit you!" The captain yelled. His surviving ERCS backed away to cover, as Turris tried to stand up. His leg trembled and bled heavily, but the captain stood up, albeit shakily. The captain had his face still hidden behind the Mandalorian helmet, and attempted to show no weakness to his soldiers.

"It's nothing, just a scratch. What are you looking at? Shut that ramp, get to your gunning positions, and let those ironheads have a taste of their own ship cannon!"

"SIR YES SIR!" Turris' men ran off to man some turrets, while commandos in the cockpit already began taking off. Turris hobbled over and checked his chrono. Just a few minutes left till the assault ship would collide with the asteroid. In the passenger section, Turris saw Joanus and the Jedi. He went and sat down in one of the seats nearby, as the ship took off. Joanus came over, and Turris looked up at him.

"Maybe I underestimated you Jedi." Turris said, in all seriousness. Joanus looked surprised.

"A compliment? From you?" Joanus replied. Turris rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. But it doesn't mean I like you. Understood Jedi?" Turris shot back. Joanus grinned and saluted.

"Sir, yes sir."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

The armoured shuttle left the hangar. We were unable to stop their retreat. Heinrich turned to his men.

"FORGET THE SUPPLIES, WE'RE OUT OF HERE! MOVE MOVE MOVE!" Heinrich yelled. Him and his men made for their Basilisks, while Tairek and I rushed for ours.

We took off out of the hangar, more in the hope of fleeing the ship before it was destroyed than pursuing the ERCS and the Jedi. As we went off into space, we could see just how close the _Panzershell_ was to its destination. After the last Basilisk exited, the _Panzershell_ immediately crashed into a huge asteroid, causing a massive explosion. The destructive explosion sent out a shockwave, and though it shook our crafts, we weren't destroyed. The rest of the Republic fleet had been destroyed an hour ago. Heinrich came across the comm. channels on all the Basilisks.

"_This isn't over yet boys. Pursue that shuttle and shoot it down. No Jedi or ERCS will escape with one of my ships and get away with it_." Heinrich said.

An attack wing of Basilisks swooped in, and began battering the shuttle with heavy payloads of missiles, turrets, and the like. Beneath us was the ice planet of Hoth, as we exited the asteroid field and headed closer to the planet. Heinrich's main fleet was still a ways away from the asteroid field near the original battle site with the Republic fleet. For now, it was just us. After a while, the attack wings made some progress and pierced through the shuttle's armour.

"_General, I've destroyed their engines_!" One of the pilots said over the comm.

"_Good work. Finish the job_." Heinrich said. The attack wings blasted the armour some more, and then commed. back.

"_General, they seem to be heading for that lone planet below us_." The pilot said.

"_They're attempting to crash land on Hoth. We've defeated them in space, now we'll ensure their corpses will freeze in the ice. After them_!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Their stolen shuttle shook violently, as the commandos in the cockpit did their best to pilot what was left of the shuttle. Turris came in for a status report. The commando in the co-pilot's seat looked up at him.

"Captain, we need to crash land on the planet below. Otherwise…"

"I know!" Turris yelled. He sighed and took a deep breath. For a minute Turris wondered if they were better off piloting the _Panzershell_ to civilization, but he made his decision a while ago. Now he and his men had to live or die with it. "Engines?"

"Gone."

"Shields?"

"Depleted entirely." The commando said. Turris punched the wall.

"Shit!" Turris yelled. The commando kept piloting the shuttle down towards Hoth, while the other commando looked up at Turris, hopeful. The commando was worried, but he knew they could count on the captain, trust in his years of experience, believe in him, give their lives for him, and ultimately he wouldn't fail them. Turris sighed and looked to the commando piloting the shuttle.

"Land then and try not to kill us all."

"Understood sir. I'll do my best." The pilot said. Turris wanted to shoot back and say his 'best' wasn't good enough, he wanted everything he's got to save their asses. But he recognized this wasn't the time to be hard. He patted the man's arm.

"Good." Turris said. He turned to the other commandos, who assembled at the entrance to the cockpit. "Soldiers! Prepare for a rough meeting with the ice! We're landing on Hoth!"

A few seconds later, the heavily damaged shuttle blasted through Hoth's atmosphere, and fell towards the icy surface of Hoth below…


	4. Hoth

**Hoth **

Turris crawled out of the shuttle's wreckage, onto the ice of the unforgiving planet. Most of his ERCS didn't make it through the landing, though Joanus and the remaining Jedi lived. They were unconscious but breathing. Turris shakingly stood up, along with his surviving squad. He turned to them.

"We need to hide quickly. Scan the area." Turris ordered. One of his recon units pulled out a short range scanner.

"In progress captain." The commando said. Turris towards the rear of the shuttle, trying to see through the hail of snowy winds. Unable to discern what he was seeing, he activated the Mandalorian helmet's thermal vision, and identified a pack of Tauntauns. The recon commando spoke.

"Captain, I've located what appears to be a cave 300 meters from our location." The commando said. Turris closed his eyes behind his helmet. He was under the most extreme stress he had ever experienced in the whole war.

"It may be our only chance." Turris whispered to himself. He looked up to his troops. "Good. Gather up whatever supplies we have, get the Jedi, take those Tauntauns over there, and make it to that cave before the snow storm isolates us here, and before those ironheads find us."

"Understood sir!" His men yelled. After picking up what supplies there were, they gathered up the unconscious Jedi, set them on top of the Tauntauns, and rode off on the native beasts towards the cave.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

We took the Basilisks down to the ice planet below. Heinrich and his men in their Basilisks swooped over the crashed shuttle, and landed nearby. Tairek and I landed with them, and we exited our crafts onto the ice planet. We were caught in a mild snow storm, but we could still see. Heinrich assembled us at the landing zone.

"_Before the Republic ship was destroyed, I managed to make contact with the main fleet, though the asteroids made it difficult to make a secure connection. Nevertheless, the fleet knows our whereabouts and are sending reinforcements. They should be here in 40 minutes. In the meantime, let's check the crashed shuttle and we'll see if we can track the ERCS and the Jedi. Everyone with me!_" Heinrich said over the helmet comm.

The winds began to increase in intensity, so we could only hear each other through the comm. channel. We walked for 5 minutes through the ice and snow, reaching the crashed shuttle. Heinrich and his men, along with Tairek and I, investigated the crash sight. A few dead ERCS, no Jedi though. As I circled around the shuttle, I spotted what looked like foot prints. I knelt down to inspect, careful not to step on them. There were some human foot prints, and a lot of larger foot prints. I commed. in to Heinrich.

"General, I've found foot prints in the snow at the nose of the cockpit." I said.

"_Our first and only lead. Everyone follow Fett and Tairek. We may have the ERCS and Jedi yet!_"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Turris and his ERCS, mounted atop the tauntauns, reached the cave entrance. Turris looked behind him and saw that the snow storm was fast approaching.

"Recon, secure the cave."

"Right away cap." The commando said. He dismounted from the tauntaun, and ventured inside the cave. A few moments later, there was a monstrous roar and a human scream. Immediately following that, the recon commando's head, still in the Mandalorian helmet, rolled out of the mouth of the cave.

"Great. Wampa." Turris said dryly. The rest of the ERCS dismounted and approached the mouth.

"Just give us the order and we'll gladly toast that beast, cap." One of the commandos said. Turris thought on that for a moment, then looked at the head of his lost soldier and shook his head.

"No. We can't risk any more casualties. Set up a tauntaun with an explosive and send it into the cave, give that Wampa a run for its money." Turris ordered.

The demolitions commando went about the task of setting a permacrete charge to one of the Tauntauns, and sending the beast inside the cave. A few moments later they could hear the death cry of the Tauntaun once the Wampa killed. The Wampa presumably began to eat the Tauntaun when a violent explosion sounded, shooting out Wampa and Tauntaun guts out the mouth of the cave. Like a red carpet, the mouth of the cave was covered with blood and entrails. Turris nodded to his men.

"Clear. Move out." Turris said. The ERCS began taking the Tauntauns, carrying the Jedi and supplies inside. Turris glanced down at the 'carpet' before heading inside.

"Messy." The captain muttered. He went inside with the rest of his men.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

There was a loud, intense BOOM from off in the distance as we followed the foot prints. Tairek and I turned to Heinrich.

"Easy. Follow the explosions boys." Heinrich said.

We headed off in the direction of the explosion, which was also the same direction of the foot prints. The ERCS and Jedi presumably found some local beasts to ride. After a ways we came in range of what looked like a cave, as the snow storm really began to pick up. We took cover behind a snow dune and observed the cave with macrobinoculars. I realized Tairek and I still had our scatter guns. Not that they'd do much good out here, although they could definitely be handy inside the cave.

"They've holed up inside a cave. What do we got?" Heinrich asked. Major Philippe assessed their supplies and commed. back in.

"_A bazooka, some repeaters, scoped rifles, and plenty of grenades General_." Philippe replied.

"Good. Tairek, Doug, I want you to circle around the cave and locate any possible exits they could use. We need to trap them inside. Major, take a few of your men and go with them." Heinrich said. Tairek and I nodded, borrowed a grenade launcher, and went off, Major Philippe and a few of his troops joining us. Heinrich and the rest of his men meanwhile planned an offensive against the main entrance of the cave.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

One of the ERCS hauled the two Jedi over to a wall, leaning them up against it and setting them up with life support packs. He came back to the captain, as Turris assembled his men.

"Ok soldiers, we need to work quickly. The snow storm will probably keep the Mandalorians at bay long enough for us to turn this cave into a fortress, but it will also cut us off so we need to send a message while we still have one clear channel left. Unit 5, send an SOS message into space so any Republic fleets in the sector will intercept it. The rest of you fortify the entrance, keep the Mandalorians at a distance till help arrives." Turris ordered. His men went to their tasks, while he noticed the Jedi began to recover. He began to start a fire using the clothes of the soldier the Wampa killed.

"Hope you don't mind?" Turris asked of his fallen comrade. The corpse fortunately didn't reply so Turris took some of it's clothing, lit it up with his gauntlet flame thrower, and warmth slowly filled the cave. Unit 5 returned.

"Cap, we sent an SOS message into space on encrypted Republic channels. It should reach the edge of the Hoth system but it won't go farther than that."

"Good job. Did you make contact with any Republic forces nearby?"

"Negative. We tried, but the snow storm drifted in and the asteroids drifted into our signal." The commando replied. Turris sighed.

"I understand. Now we can only wait and hope they'll pick up our message. Go and help the others to fortify the entrance."

"Yes sir." The commando said. He headed off to the entrance. Turris turned and looked back at his fire, a sour feeling in his gut. He looked back up at his soldiers as they tried in vain to make the cave as well defended as possible. Turris shook his head.

"Good men, good soldiers…they don't deserve to die." Turris whispered to himself. He heard one of the Jedi groan near the wall, and looked over to see Joanus wake up. He slowly recovered, looking around to get his bearings, eventually walking over and sitting at the fire opposite Turris.

"I guess I owe you my life. Thank you Captain. What's our situation?" Joanus asked. Turris shrugged.

"Spare me your thanks Jedi. You aren't a Wookie so you don't owe me a life debt. It's my duty to protect you. I've saved many lives and my life was saved many times too during this war. Daily bread for us soldiers." Turris said, looking into the fire. He looked up at Joanus.

"As for our situation, it's certainly not comfortable. We sent a blind SOS message into space, and tried to communicate directly with the Republic before the snow storm cut us off. We're fucked already so if the Mandalorians intercepted the SOS, it wouldn't matter anyhow." Turris said. He pointed to the cave entrance.

"My boys are doing their best to prepare the defenses for when the ironheads attack." Turris said, taking a deep breath. "I think that's all. Now all we can do is hope we'll survive long enough for help to arrive." Turris said. "IF it will arrive." He whispered to himself. He spoke loud again. "Now excuse me, I must check our defenses. Keep the fire going." Turris said. He stood up and headed to the cave entrance. Joanus shook his head.

"Eventually, I'm just going to stop trying to be nice and just throttle him," Joanus muttered.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

After 10 minutes the intense snow storm died down. The sun was out again, as Turris and his men could see the beautiful blue sky outside. Nevertheless it was still bloody cold, the snow on the ground crunched under their feet, the air was still sharp you could feel-

"INCOMING BLASTER BOLTS!" Turris yelled. Two of his men were immediately gunned down, the bolts shooting their visors, shooting into their skulls and plastering the insides of their helmets with brains and blood. The rest of his team dove for cover underneath the stone defenses they built. Turris stood back up, pulling out his pistols and firing at the Mandalorians as they took cover beneath a snow dune. Turris bowed his head in fear.

"There are too many of them…" He whispered. Turris clenched his fists, and turned back around to address his remaining men.

"Soldiers! No! Brothers! Ironheads are coming for us! For our lives! For our souls! There will be no mercy if they defeat us! BUT THIS WON'T HAPPEN! Your families, your wives and children, are waiting for you back home! Fight for them! Win for them! And return to your homes as husbands, fathers, and heroes of the Republic! Our duty is to protect the Republic, and every innocent woman and child in it just like yours! Not for politicians, not for idealism, but for the people! That's why we came to this war!" Turris yelled, pausing.

"I lost my family a long time ago, in fact I've never had any family other than the Elite Republic Commandos! All of you, my brothers, are my family! And I will fight for you with all my heart, mind, and soul! And until my heart stops beating I will do everything to protect and save you! We have been in many dangerous spots together over the years, and we've lost many good comrades, but we've never known defeat as long as we've stood and fought together LIKE MEN!" Turris yelled.

His few surviving men, at the brink of exhaustion and defeat, rose to stand, their morale skyrocketing thanks to their leader's words. "Once again for this last battle, ARE YOU WITH ME?"

"SIR YES SIR!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

A split second before the Mandalorians shot into their cave, Joanus sensed a pulse in the Force, and then immediately two of the ERCS were killed. Joanus stood up, raised the hood on his Jedi robe, and went over to the last remaining Jedi, still attached to the life pack. Joanus gripped his shoulder and shook it.

"Come on, get up. We're in trouble," Joanus said. The Jedi woke up.

"Are we safe?" the Jedi asked.

"No. There are Mandalorians. Get up," Joanus said. He and the Jedi turned in the direction of the ERCS, as Turris inspired them. Joanus ignited his crimson lightsaber, illuminating the cave, while the other Jedi ignited his orange lightsaber. The Jedi looked at Joanus.

"What do we do?"

"Make an exit," Joanus replied. He went to the rear of the cave, and began to carve out a hole. The snow at the tip of the saber simply collapsed on the hole, filling it in. Joanus swore and pulled his saber out.

"I can't cut through this quick enough, it's packing itself too fast." Joanus said. He turned to the other Jedi.

"Keep at it. I'll keep the bucket heads off our backs," Joanus said. He headed off to help Turris and the ERCS against the Mandalorians, while the other Jedi made slow progress with the hole.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Heinrich and his men fired their blaster rifles at the cave entrances, taking a few of the ERCS down with them. When one of them began to return fire, he and his men took cover again behind the snow dune. The sun was out again, and now the ERCS and Jedi had no snow storm to protect them. He contacted Major Philippe.

"Major, we're beginning our assault now. What's your position?"

"_Tairek and Fett have moved on ahead, my men and I have created a perimeter around a possible exit_."

"Good. They won't be able to escape us this time!" Heinrich said. He turned to his men.

"This is their last stand! Reinforcements will arrive soon, and they'll be overwhelmed. Let's not give them a chance to even breathe! CHARGE!" Heinrich yelled. Him and his men climbed up over the dune, and began running towards the cave firing their blasters.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the cave…

Tairek and I continued on ahead, conducting recon around other portions of the cave exterior. Major Philippe decided to dig in and wait to ambush the Jedi and ERCS should they exit around the immediate rear. However, we were still in range to retreat back to their position should our foe tunnel out.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Turris and his few remaining ERCS dramatically defended the cave against the Mandalorian attack. Turris had only four men, the Mandalorians had well over 20. Nevertheless, this act of courage and heroism was soon to burn out, as Turris' men dropped like flies, though they took down many Mandalorians, outnumbered as they were. Even with Joanus coming to help them, batting away blaster bolts, it was a losing battle.

"Hold your positions!" Turris yelled, firing the Mandalorian blasters that the previous occupant of the armour had. When the Mandalorians reached melee range, Turris moved ahead, injured as he was, and assisted Joanus in the melee with a vibro-knife. One Mandalorian managed to get behind Joanus, and was about to slash him with a gladius when Turris moved in, grabbing the Mandalorian from behind.

"Do you always stick your nose…" Turris asked tauntingly, using his knife to slash the Mandalorian's throat, "where it doesn't belong?" Turris asked, throwing the dead Mandalorian down. He punched the throat of an incoming Mandalorian, crushing his wind pipe, then knelt to avoid a few incoming blaster bolts. One of his men yelled from behind the melee.

"Captain! We can't hold on much longer! There are too many of them!" The commando yelled. Turris rolled on the ground, out of the way of an incoming attack, then lunged up and stabbed his attacker in the kidneys. The Mandalorian bent down, holding his side, as Turris stood up and kneed the Mandalorian in the face, sending him sprawling backwards.

"Prepare for plan B! We'll close ourselves off inside the cave!"

"Understood sir!" The commando yelled. The Mandalorians had overwhelmed the barrier they had set up, but Joanus managed to keep pushing them back. Still, he couldn't get every one of them. For that short moment though, Turris managed to kill two other Mandalorians as they got past Joanus. The barrier was clear of their foe for the moment, though there were many more coming and they had only seconds to retreat.

"Joanus! We need to leave the barrier, now!" Turris yelled. Turris grabbed Joanus' arm, and they backed away from the barrier. His commandos initiated plan B just as more Mandalorians entered the breach, and an explosive went off above their heads, collapsing the cave mouth on top of the attacking Mandalorians, killing them.


	5. The Last Stand

Heinrich and the rest of his men reached the collapsed cave entrance, now completely filled in with hard packed snow and ice. The General punched his fist into the snow and swore.

"Sith's blood! Everyone with me, they must be trying to escape out the rear!" Heinrich yelled. He and his men began to run towards the opposite end of the cave. He contacted Major Philippe over their comm. channel.

"Philippe, they closed off the cave entrance! They'll surely be trying to flee from another side of the cave! They have at least one Jedi still inside and five ERCS."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Meanwhile, on the other side of the cave...

"Understood general!" The Major replied. He turned to his men. "The ERCS managed to close the cave entrance, but they still have a bite left. Everyone, keep your eyes peeled!" The Major said. Tairek and I were 40 feet away, still within range of the Major. I turned to Tairek.

"We'll hold our position here, just in case?" I asked. Tairek nodded.

"Aye. Burrow into the snow, we'll use it to ambush them when they exit." Tairek replied. I nodded, and we began to cover ourselves inside the natural environment.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Joanus walked over to the other Jedi, who was still doing his best to make a hole through the snow and ice. It was slow going.

"How's it going?" Joanus asked.

"Poorly..." The Jedi's orange lightsaber was slowly cutting through a solid wall of ice. He took a glance towards where the barrier was then looked at Joanus. "We don't have an exit or entrance anymore, do we?"

"No. Let's see if two Jedi can make this go any faster." Joanus said.

Turris and the ERCS, meanwhile, regrouped in the center of the cave after the explosion and the mouth's cave-in. There was so much snow and ice around them that any noise from outside the cave was muted entirely. The fire Turris started a while ago burned out, and the only light inside the frozen cave was the glow of the lightsabers from the Jedi.

"Will somebody be so kind and turn on a light? It's fucking dark in here!" Turris barked.

"Right away cap!" His commandos turned on the Mandalorian helmet's flashlights and tossed some flares down.

"That's better. Now let's help the Jedi break us out of here, before the Mandalorians decide to blow the cave apart on top of us!" Turris ordered. After 15 minutes, they finally carved out a working hole, that three men could exit at a time. Daylight poured inside the cave. Turris held the Jedi and his men back, as he crawled through the hole to get a look, activating the Mandalorian helmet's thermal vision.

"Clever…" Turris whispered. He crawled back towards his allies inside the cave. "Boys, turn on your thermal vision. Jedi, I'm sure you can sense our friends outside, hidden." Turris said. One of his commandos nodded.

"We can see them cap. What's the plan?"

"We can't risk an open fight. They're waiting for us to come out. What do we got left?"

"3 cryoban grenades and 2 attachable scopes."

"Perfect. Stun them with the grenades. You two, take those scopes and cover us." Turris ordered to his men. "…Hope it's enough, or this will all be for nothing…" Turris whispered, his jaw trembling. He felt it could work at the start, but he nevertheless had a very bad feeling about this last stand…

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Major Philippe and his squad had hidden themselves behind a few man sized snow dunes. He and his men tracked and confirmed that their foe had cut out a hole in the snow to exit out of. The Major contacted his general.

"General Heinrich, I have a visual confirmation of their exit. They've carved out a hole in the ice. They'll be trying to make a run for it any minute now." Philippe said.

"_Roger. My men and I will be there in a few minutes. Keep them pinned Major_."

"Understood. Over and out."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Meanwhile…

Tairek and I remained burrowed, but kept a view of the Major and his men. Over the channel we heard the Major contact the general. Any minute now…

"Come on Jedi…I'm gunning for you." I said.

"Relax lad. Don't get ahead of yourself or you'll lose more than a limb." Tairek advised.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Turris and his men slowly crawled out of the hole, which ended with a small ditch they could use for cover. Ahead of them were various snow dunes, which they confirmed as hiding spots for the Mandalorians. When his men were in position, he gave the command.

"FIRE!" Turris yelled. Three of his men armed the cryoban grenades, and threw them towards the hidden Mandalorians, stunning and freezing them. The other hidden Mandalorians poped up from their hiding spots, but Turris and his men with scoped rifles picked them off while the rest of his men and the Jedi emerged and ran. Almost completely neutralizing the whole ambush party, Turris changed plans.

"CHARGE!" Turris yelled. He and his men ran for the remaining Mandalorians, while Joanus and the Jedi deflected blaster bolts. They struck into the Mandalorians, most of whom were wearing blue Neo-Crusader armour. As his men and the Jedi killed the basic troopers, Turris found the officer in red armour, body slammed him, and when the officer fell flat on his back, Turris equiped his knife and quickly slit his throat. The snow around them begins to grow red amidst the blood spilled from the dead Mandalorians. Turris stood up.

"Good work soldiers. Let's-"

"_Major? Major Philippe, come in over! We're hearing a lot of blaster fire, what's the situation! Report!_" It was a voice from the red armoured officer's helmet. The Mandalorians weren't finished. This was just a squad of them.

"Shit! We need to get out of here quickly, before more ironheads arrive! MOVE MOVE MOVE!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

General Heinrich contacted Major Philippe over the comlink, after hearing explosions and blaster fire.

"Major? Major Philippe, come in over! We're hearing a lot of blaster fire, what's the situation! Report!" Heinrich ordered. The line was silent, except for a few voices on the other end. Philippe and his men were gone. "Blast it all…" Heinrich swore. He contacted Tairek and Doug over the comlink.

"Boys, Philippe is gone. What's the situation?" Heinrich asked over the comm.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Meanwhile…

Tairek and I were burrowed inside our own ambush spot, and watched as the ERCS and Jedi splattered Philippe and his men across the snow. I was about to stand up to exact revenge, when Tairek held me back.

"No lad. Be smart." Tairek said. We got a call on our helmet comms from General Heinrich.

"_Boys, Philippe is gone. What's the situation?_"

"Philippe and his men have been taken out by the Jedi and ERCS. They're making a run for it now." I replied.

"_We'll be there in just a moment…there they are, after them_!" Heinrich yelled. Coming onto the scene from the right was Heinrich and his men, firing at the escaping Jedi and ERCS.

"Now lad!" Tairek yelled. Tairek and I stood up from our ambush spots, and fired down at our foe.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"RUUUN!" Turris yelled.

His men and the Jedi bolted out into the open, making a run for it. Joanus and the Jedi covered their retreat, while Turris and his ERCS moved towards the snow dunes to give covering fire. As Turris ran, two slugs snapped apart his ribs on his left side, followed by another shot in the leg. Turris fell flat, just short of a snow dune. Turris hissed in pain, ready to take a lost shot and die with both his legs crippled, when Joanus rushed to his side and deflected blaster bolts away from him.

"Can you walk?" Joanus asked, shouting over the howling wind and the whine of the blasters. The rest of the ERCS took cover behind some dunes, while the other Jedi slowly backed away.

"Yes." Turris replied, hissing in pain as Joanus helped him stand. They began to back off, retreating behind the dunes. One of the ERCS got picked off with a shot in the head. Joanus shook his head.

He set Turris down behind a dune, then activated the other end of his double bladed lightsaber, killing two approaching Mandalorians. He helped Turris back up and they made a run for it, getting out of range of the Mandalorians. Joanus lost sight of his fellow Jedi as snowy winds began to pick up again, though he could make out an orange glow behind them. Joanus, Turris, and the few surviving ERCS bolted for it. After running for a minute, they stopped. One of the commandos looked down.

"Sir, we're doomed. This is a-" The commando was cut off in mid sentence, as a blaster bolt struck him in the back of his head. His body flipped over and fell down, but instead of toppling into the snow, it fell down into a giant precipice in front of them.

"Dead end." Turris said, finishing the commando's sentence. Stuck at the end of a massive cliff, with Mandalorians in pursuit, Turris, Joanus, and the ERCS were surely finished…

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

While Heinrich and his men pursued the main group of ERCS and Jedi, presumably Joanus Cree, there was a straggler – a Jedi, deflecting blaster bolts this way and that with his orange lightsaber. Tairek and I rushed him. The Jedi sensed us though, turned our way, and managed to counter just before we could take him. He ducked and shot out his leg, sweeping Tairek. I circled behind the Jedi as he swept Tairek, and as he turned back around I blasted him in the face with the scatter rifle. His upper torso went crashing into the snow, and I continued pumping a few more slugs into his chest and head, making a bloody mess. Tairek recovered and stopped me.

"Calm down lad. He's dead, don't you see?" Tairek asked.

"I know." I replied dryly.

As I was shooting apart his body, for a few moments I imagined he was Darius, and I was killing him over and over again. Bloody traitor. I knelt down, and retrieved the Jedi's lightsaber as a trophy. My first Jedi kill, in the icy wastes of Hoth. I turned to Tairek.

"We better go and help Heinrich." I said.

Tairek and I ran ahead, and after a few minutes we finally reached our comrades. Heinrich's reinforcements had arrived and landed a short ways away, with two more platoons coming in. Heinrich and his men though had already surrounded the ERCS and Jedi by the time us and the reinforcements arrived. Tairek and I joined, aiming our scatter rifles down at our prisoners. The last Jedi, Joanus Cree, noticed the lightsaber hanging at my belt, while Heinrich's men removed the Mandalorian helmets from the ERCS to get a look at their faces. There were only four ERCS left. They all wore Mandalorian armour, stolen from a patrol aboard _The Panzershell_.

"The Elite Republic Commandos, and Joanus Cree. You'll make do as fine tributes to Mandalore." Heinrich said, reloading his rifle.

"Do your worst, Mandalorian scum." The ERCS captain said. Heinrich laughed.

"You've come this far, and I commend you for that. You've been worthy opponents. But now you are subjects and prisoners of our great leader. Tairek, Fett, take these men back to the fleet, toss them in a carbon freezing chamber and deliver them back to Dxun. I'm sure your superiors will reward you plentifully." Heinrich said.

Our prisoners already cuffed, Tairek and I led them back to the ships the reinforcements came in on. One of the commandos spoke.

"Fett, huh? Any relation to Cassus?"

"He's a blood cousin." I replied. Tairek and I kept our scatter guns aimed at their backs as we walked them forward.

"As much as I hate to say it, you Mandalorians are a lot tougher than you've already shown yourselves to be. My name is Turris, and once I escape out of this mess, I hope we meet on the battlefield again to prove to you the Republic's resolve. What's your name?" Turris asked. I pressed the scatter gun into Turris' back.

"Douglas Fett, of clan Fett." I replied. The Jedi, Joanus, spoke.

"I see you have my comrade's lightsaber."

"I'm glad to see your eyes are working, _Jedi_. Shut up and keep moving." I said.

At that moment, there were loud, booming explosions behind us. A Republic assault ship was in space over Hoth, while landing craft armed with heavy duty cannons swept in, blasting away at Heinrich's men. A nearby blast struck Tairek and I down and we fell into the snow, while Turris, Joanus, and the ERCS bolted for the Republic landing craft. I gritted my teeth and quickly stood back up, running after my foe. I was the lone Mandalorian after them. Everybody else had either been killed or knocked unconscious. I wouldn't let them get away. As the landing craft set down in the snow, I fired the scatter gun continually, blasting away the ERCS troopers. Joanus jumped into the ship unscathed, and as he was helping Turris inside, I fired my last slug, pegging Turris in the shoulder. Turris fell, but before I could finish him Joanus pulled him inside the craft. I tossed the rifle and ran for the craft with my pistol, firing at them.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Turris lay against a wall inside the landing craft, bleeding against it and on the ground, as it began to take off. Joanus sat opposite him. The co-pilot's voice sounded over the loud speaker.

"We received your signal just in time. You're lucky a patrolling fleet was in this sector, we were just getting ready to move on." The co-pilot said. Turris leaned over to look inside the cockpit.

"Lucky? Just in time! Your fucking late! I lost my squad, my whole team, the whole fucking platoon! Many fine men were killed by those blasted ironheads, and now their bodies will never leave this block of ice! Go to hell!" Turris yelled angrily at the pilots. Just yelling made him hurt more, as though his wounds bled more.

He crawled back over, and looked at the open hatch at the planet below. The craft was leaving Hoth behind, but Turris could make out the young Mandalorian, Douglas Fett, chasing them. When the craft left the surface of the planet, Fett threw off his helmet in anger, and looked up at the captain. Their eyes met for just a moment, and in that one second, that Mandalorian Legionnaire and that Elite Republic Commando were linked by just one thought.

_We'll meet again…_

Turris was losing consciousness, having lost a lot of blood from his wounded ribs, shoulder, and legs. As the landing crafts side hatches closed, Turris blacked out, as the landing craft flew them back to the safety of the nearby patrol fleet. 

**TURRIS MISSION PORTION: COMPLETE**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Joanus turned off his lightsaber as they got inside the craft. He held it loosely in his hand as he stared out the side viewport, as the craft took off into the atmosphere and as captain Turris passed out behind him. He had respect for the captain, he had risked his life and his men's lives for a cause, and that gave the young Jedi Knight hope. As long as they continued to strive, as long as they remained united, they would eventually push the Mandalorians back. Revan had only just entered the war, but Joanus and many other Jedi believed in him, and knew in their hearts he could turn the tide of the war back against the Mandalorians.

At that thought, Joanus' memory wandered to the sight of the Mandalorian troops. They were no different from the Republic…fighting valiantly for a cause, and he respected that as well. It all came down to the Dark Side, he supposed. Leaving millions, billions, to be slaughtered on the Outer Rim by the Mandalorians was dark. Fighting to protect them, now that was light. The Mandalorians would be killed for their treachery. They would be destroyed, annihilated, because justice must be done. It was not the time to compromise, not in the face of Armageddon. When the war was over, then they could assess whether or not they had walked the morally straight and narrow path through the war, but now there was fighting to be done and lives to save.

**JOANUS CREE MISSION PORTION: COMPLETE**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

The landing craft took off just moments before I could get to it.

"DAMMIT!" I yelled, throwing off my helmet in anger. I threw my pistol down, and looked up at the craft. I could still make out the face of the ERCS captain, Turris. For a few moments it seemed as though we were linked, sharing the same thought.

_We'll meet again…_

I gritted my teeth in anger, and after a few moments began to relax. Tairek, Heinrich, and his surviving troops came over, and looked up at the craft as it took off. Tairek patted my shoulder.

"It's alright lad. You win some and you lose some. Its just one battle, the war isn't over." Tairek said. I picked up my helmet and pistol and equipped them, then turned to Tairek.

"Yah. Guess we better report back to Dxun." I replied. Heinrich, looking up at the craft, turned to us.

"I'll be sure to speak to your superior officers about your stellar work today gentlemen. Losing them was my fault, but you two fought the good fight and survived. I hope I'll be able to fight alongside the both of you in another battle." Heinrich said.

He shook our hands, and Tairek and I headed back to our Basilisk. We got inside, and as Tairek took us off into space, I looked at the Jedi's lightsaber attached to my belt.

_Bloody Jedi…they fight with their 'Force' and lightsabers, but they'd be nothing if it came down to just a bare fist fight. Those Commandos though…I hope in fighting them, I could learn a thing or two from them. That's what our culture is about…adapting. It's not traitorous to use our foes' tactics against them. It's evolution, change, and if we didn't, we'd die._

After a few moments, the Basilisk blasted off into hyperspace, leaving the forsaken ice world of Hoth behind.

**DOUGLAS FETT MISSION PORTION: COMPLETE**


	6. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

Fett and Tairek's working relationship started out dry, but over time Fett came to saw Tairek as not only a mentor, but a father figure. The two would go on to conduct covert operations behind enemy lines for the duration of the Mandalorian offensive.

General Heinrich and his fleet quickly left the Hoth system, in the hopes of finding another remote world to set up a hidden base. True to his mission and loyalty to Mandalore, Heinrich's army set up a base on a yet unknown world. However, small Republic patrol fleets discovered the base, and engaged Heinrich's fleet. Reports of the battle suggested Heinrich and his damaged fleet managed to escape, though they never returned to Dxun. It is believed that him and his fleet fled into the Unknown Regions, and have not been heard from to this day.

The Jedi Knight Revan and his followers, having just recently entered the war, didn't rise as a true threat to the Mandalorians until two years after their main three-sector offensive. Revan was, for that time, seen as a spark of hope to the Republic, but not viewed as a true saviour yet. He suffered his share of defeats along the way before finally coming into his own as a master strategist and tactician, beginning with the retaking of Taris in 3,961 BBY.

Joanus Cree returned to Coruscant for a time and then spent reprieve time on Dantooine. When it was time for him to return to the action, he came to the front lines and led a daring, though bloody and costly, assault on the planet Zolamis.

Captain Turris returned to Coruscant, where he recovered from his heavy wounds over the following weeks. Attending the funeral of his soldiers lost during the action, something broke inside of him. He decided to rebuild ERCS, but on a completely new level.


End file.
